The Walkers

Growing up, my family always took part in two sacred holiday rituals. (I realize these are not in order according to timeline, but bear with me.) Every Christmas Eve we read and act out the Nativity. I think it was cute when we were little... making my uncle Wade don donkey ears and crawl on all fours across the family room, with one of the little girls on his back. It's pretty funny actually - there came a point where there were too many cousins for all the "roles", so our parents made up extra animals and characters so that everyone could be in costume. I'm pretty sure someone was a frog one year. SO NOT KIDDING! The other, equally sentimental, tradition is that every Thanksgiving after we've gorged ourselves on "second dinner" (you know, the meal a couple hours after the meal), we watch White Christmas . Anyway... since I've been married, I've had to tweak the latter tradition a bit. Since my kind, loving husband refuses to watch any movie fil...

This isn't nearly as funny as the lemon incident at Ryan's wedding... but Laurel and I were cracking up last week watching Isabel suck on the limes at Cafe Rio (there's a new one in Orem, by the way). I think Laurel drank one too many Diet Cokes with a twist while pregnant, cuz this kid has some weird chew toys.

Laurel already talked about this on her blog... but I'm excited too! Brett got his mission call this week. He's been called to serve in the Arizona Tempe mission. Honestly, it's the last place any of us would have guessed; but it is so awesome! It just feels so right. He is such a stellar person and I know he'll be a phenomenal missionary. My mom grew up just around the corner from his mission (in Mesa), so I'm sure they'll start their own little exclusive "AZ club" soon. Brett's just bummed that the weather will force him to wear short-sleeved white shirts with a tie - a fashion faux pas that, I regret to admit, Brad has been sporting long since his mission. I love them both anyway. Everybody wish him luck!! p.s. Gotta hand it to Arizona for the killer desert sunsets!

Sorry guys. While thinking of my favorites I couldn't help but think of my least favorites. Disclaimer: These are not books I necessarily hate (well, not all of them anyway)... I just think they're overrated. And there's more than one that I never even finished. (So maybe my credibility just plummeted? Oh well.) 1. Huckleberry Finn 2. Sister Carrie 3. The Giver 4. The Work and the Glory 5. Moby Dick 6. Tess of the D'urbervilles 7. The Great Gatsby 8. Jane Eyre 9. David Copperfield 10. Uncle Tom’s Cabin

At lunch today, a colleague asked the question: "What is the best book ever written?" (He teaches Psychology and likes to ask "deep" questions".) I still don't have an answer for him (besides the easy religious response), but it got me thinking. So in true College Times fashion, I came up with my own Top 10 list. (In no particular order.) 1. Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen. This one is nostalgic… contrary to popular (male) belief, it’s not just a sappy love story. It’s all about personal growth, family idiosyncrasies, absurdities associated with social hierarchy, and finding compatibility in relationships. 2. East of Eden John Steinbeck’s spin on the Garden of Eden (set in the turn of the century). It’s really heavy; it deals with adultery, murder, rivalry, prostitution, all in one seriously jacked-up family. But it provides great discourse on innate evil and the mistreatment of family members. 3. Les Miserables Everyone knows this story: survival, sin, re...

Last night, I was taking out the garbage between Trick or Treating knocks, and I just had to have a moment's pause. Like a dork, I just stood in my driveway watching all the little kids walking the streets with their parents, pumpkin-shaped goodie baskets in hand. I'm pretty sure I teared up. What is it about kids in fluffy little costumes that's so darn adorable? And the excitement that they get from one crappy fun-size Crunch bar is beyond me. (Except for the little turds that grab a handful... grrr...) Anyway - it's like, all the magic of the holiday came flooding back to me... (you know, since the fateful year when my parents forbade me to mooch candy from my neighbors anymore) and I was totally caught up in the moment. I'm so happy to live in a place where there are so many young families to participate in stuff like this! Not to mention the fact that it's SAFE enought for them to participate in stuff like this. I'm not saying Payson is exempt fr...